Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court on Thursday said that she has decided to initiate contempt proceedings against some individuals who were discharged by the lower court in the CBI case related to Delhi tax policy for posting defamatory, contempt and defamatory material against her and the court on social media.
The judge said she would announce her decision on starting contempt proceedings at 5 p.m.
Justice Sharma said that on Thursday, she is scheduled to announce the names of senior lawyers who will represent former Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Prime Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP leader Durgesh Pathak in the CBI appeal following their decision to boycott the proceedings.
The judge said: “Today, I was scheduled to announce the names of friends. I have made efforts, and some senior lawyers have also graciously agreed, but in the meantime, I have learned that some defendants are publishing very defamatory and very contemptible materials against me and this court and I cannot remain silent.”
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“So, I have decided to file a contempt case against some of the defendants and some other offenders,” she said on Thursday afternoon when she took up the CBI’s appeal against the February 27 court order acquitting Kejriwal and 22 others in the tax policy case. “My order is ready, and I will announce it around five o’clock, and only then will I decide what I will do in this case.”
On the first day of hearing the CBI appeal, Justice Sharma on March 9 stayed the trial court’s directions for administrative action against a CBI officer, terming the statements as prima facie wrong, and adjourned the proceedings initiated by the ED in relation to Delhi’s excise duty policy.
On March 11, Kejriwal urged Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya to transfer the case to another judge, but the petition was rejected on March 13. He, Sisodia and four others then filed an application before Justice Sharma seeking her recusal, with Kejriwal appearing in person to argue his request.
On April 20, the judge denied the requests, holding that there was “no clear reason” for recusal, and warning that recusal based on perceived bias would set a troubling precedent.
However, Kejriwal wrote to the judge on April 27 informing her of his decision to boycott the proceedings. In his letter, the AAP president said that following the April 20 ruling, his “well-founded concerns” remained unresolved, and the ruling left him with the impression that his legitimate concerns had been viewed as a personal attack on the judge and an “assault” on the institution itself.
Manish Sisodia and later Durgesh Pathak also wrote similar letters conveying the same decision.
On April 29, Justice Sharma gave them a final opportunity to file their replies and listed the matter for hearing on May 4 for submissions on behalf of the CBI. This came after she noted that the full lower court record, including the latest orders issued by the court after the February 27 order, had not yet been received.
On May 5, it said that an order appointing amicus curiae to represent Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak would be passed.
